The Museum of Yugoslavia ( sr, Музеј Југославије, Muzej Jugoslavije) is a public
history museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
in
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It chronicles the period of
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...
and
Socialist Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
as well as the life of
Josip Broz Tito. Tito's grave is located in one of the museum buildings (the
House of Flowers).
With 120,000 visitors annually, it is the most visited museum in Serbia.
History
"Josip Broz Tito" Memorial Centre
![Josip Broz Tito's desk in the Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Josip_Broz_Tito%27s_desk_in_the_Museum_of_Yugoslavia%2C_Belgrade.jpg)
All three buildings that make up the Museum of Yugoslavia were previously part of the "Josip Broz Tito" Memorial Centre.
The 25 May Museum was opened on 25 May 1962. It was built by the City of Belgrade as a present to
Josip Broz Tito, the president of Yugoslavia, for his 70th birthday. This museum was used to display presents that Tito have received up until 1962. A special collection of
Relay of Youth
The Relay of Youth (Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian: ''Štafeta mladosti'' ( Cyrillic: ''Штафета младости''), Macedonian: ''Штафета на младоста'', Albanian: ''Stafeta e Rinise'') was a symbolic relay race held in S ...
batons were on display in this museum. On 16 November 1982, the "Josip Broz Tito" Memorial Centre was founded and the 25 May Museum became part of the centre. Memorial centre included several buildings and institutions located mainly in Belgrade, but also in other parts of Yugoslavia (Tito's birth house in
Kumrovec
Kumrovec () is a village in the northern part Croatia, part of Krapina-Zagorje County. It sits on the Sutla River, along the Croatian-Slovenian border. The Kumrovec municipality has 1,413 residents (2021), but the village itself has only 267 peop ...
was part of the centre). The
House of Flowers where Tito was buried was also the part of the Memorial Centre. Most buildings that made up the Memorial Centre were located in the same park in the
Dedinje
Dedinje ( sr-cyrl, Дедиње, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac. Dedinje is generally considered the wealthiest part of Belgrade, and is the site of numerous ...
district of Belgrade. In 1984, the Memorial Collection Building was opened as the annex of the 25 May Museum building. The Memorial Collection displayed Tito's medals and decorations and his personal belongings.
[Erceg-Sarajčić, G. (1989). Memorijalni centar "Josip Broz Tito" : muzejsko-memorijalni sadržaji. Informatica museologica, 20(3-4), 13-16. Retrieved from http://hrcak.srce.hr/144946]
The Old Museum building was named so after the 25 May Museum (new museum) was opened. It displays museum piece that chronicle the culture, ethnography of Yugoslavia.
After his death on 4 May 1980, Josip Broz Tito was buried in the
House of Flowers, set in the Memorial Centre grounds. The centre had a collection of more than 75,000 items that illustrate the history of Yugoslavia throughout the 20th century, with the special accent on the life and work of Tito himself.
It also kept an extensive collection of the gifts Tito received during his many visits with foreign dignitaries during his presidency. The exhibits further included works of many world-notable artists like
Jan Griggier,
Claude Joseph Vernet
Claude-Joseph Vernet (14 August 17143 December 1789) was a French painter. His son, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, was also a painter.
Life and work
Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet ...
,
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (; 15 January 1793 – 23 August 1865) was an Austrian painter and writer. Waldmüller was one of the most important Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period.
Career
In 1807, Waldmüller attended the Academy o ...
, including original prints of ''
Los Caprichos
''Los caprichos'' (''The Caprices)'' is a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797–1798, and published as an album in 1799. The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's condem ...
'' by
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...
,
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (19 August 1621 – 29 September 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and a favourite student of Rembrandt. He was also an etcher, an amateur poet, a collector and an adviser on art.
Biography
Gerbrand was born i ...
''Giving the Tenth'', and many others.
For almost a decade after the breakup of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
, the entire complex (the tomb and the museum) was closed to the public and the military guards were permanently removed. The complex is now again a major tourist attraction. Many people visit the place as a
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
to "better times", especially on 25 May (Josip Broz Tito's official birth date).
Museum of the Revolution of Yugoslav Peoples
The Museum of the Revolution of Yugoslav Peoples was founded in 1959 by the Central Committee of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia. The construction of the museum building started only in 1978 in
New Belgrade
New Belgrade ( sr, / , ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. It is a planned city, built since 1948 in a previously uninhabited area on the left bank of the Sava river, opposite old Belgrade. In recent years, it has become the central bu ...
between the
Palace of Serbia
The Palace of Serbia ( sr, Палата Србије, Palata Srbije) is a building located in the Novi Beograd municipality of Belgrade, Serbia. The building is used by the government of Serbia and currently houses several cabinet level ministr ...
and the
Ušće Tower. It was planned to open the building in 1981 at the 40th anniversary of the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, but it was never finished. The unfinished structure stands abandoned and is occupied by several dozen of homeless people.
Museum of History of Yugoslavia
The museum was founded in 1996 by the
Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the Museum of the History of Yugoslavia to replace two previous institutions: the "Josip Broz Tito" Memorial Centre and the Museum of the Revolution of Yugoslav Peoples. The newly founded museum contained collections from both the "Josip Broz Tito" Memorial Centre and the Museum of the Revolution of Yugoslav Peoples.
Museum of Yugoslavia
The museum changed its name in 2016, from Museum of the History of Yugoslavia to Museum of Yugoslavia.
The museum complex comprises three buildings with a total surface of 5253 m
2, set in a 3.2-hectare park:
* 25 May Museum
*
House of Flowers
* Old Museum
See also
*
Archives of Yugoslavia
Archives of Yugoslavia ( sr-cyr, Архив Југославије), in Belgrade, Serbia, houses and protects the archival materials produced by state bodies and organizations of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 2006. It currently exists as a cultural i ...
*
Yugoslav Film Archive
The Yugoslav Film Archive ( sr, Југословенска кинотека / Jugoslovenska kinoteka) is a film archive located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Founded in 1949, it is a founding member of the International Federation of Film A ...
*
Yugoslav Drama Theatre
Yugoslav Drama Theatre ( sr-cyrl, Југословенско драмско позориште, Jugoslovensko dramsko pozorište; abbr. JDP or ''Jugodrp'') is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
It was founded in 1947 as the representative th ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Museum of Yugoslavia
Museums in Belgrade
Museums established in 1996
Museum of Yugoslavia
Savski Venac